Abounding in Love

Abounding in Love

I love teaching. Well, more accurately, I love good theological teaching: biblical doctrine; real theology. Anointed biblical teaching excites me and makes me want to study the Bible myself. It acts as a race’s starting line. The announcer calls, “on your marks, get set, go!” And I'm off and running my race, as it were, through the Scriptures.

Sadly though, I hear many today, and seemingly it’s been since the beginning of the church, say that doctrine divides and we need to just love. I believe this is wrong. It grieves the Holy Spirit, and yet, it is believed by so many.

Following is a small exegesis of Philippians 1:9-11, “9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; 11 having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” Consider the words of Paul as inspired by our beloved Holy Spirit.

Philippians 1:9 “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more” Doesn’t that just sound so good! Love abounding! That’s what we want. After all Jesus said they would know we are Christians by our love, right? Well, let’s continue…

“in real knowledge” Wait, what? How did that get in there? Love abounding in real knowledge? I thought it was just about loving each other?

“and all discernment” All discernment too…?

So love abounding in real knowledge and all discernment… that’s right. Paul is saying that love [real love] abounds in real knowledge and discernment. The Greek for “knowledge” is “precise and correct knowledge used in the NT of the knowledge of things ethical and divine” and “all discernment” is “perception, not only by the senses but by the intellect 2) cognition, discernment 2a) of moral discernment in ethical matters.”

So it appears that love abounds when real knowledge is anchored with intellectual discernment. Preceding is verse 8 where Paul states that his affection for them, the Philippians, is of Christ. Meaning that Paul’s desire for them to abound in love through real knowledge and intellectual discernment is given by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Continuing on in Philippians 1, Paul says that as we abound in real knowledge and intellectual discernment we will then be able to “approve the things that are excellent” and this will lead to [being] “sincere and blameless until the day of Christ…” And on that day of Christ “filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ…”

Let’s work through this with us—the church of today—in mind.

The greenhouse for abounding love is real correct knowledge of Jesus Christ through the Bible. That we overflow with real love in increasing measure is the will of God. As we have real correct knowledge of Christ and His word we will then be able to discern intellectually whether or not what we are experiencing or learning is accurate. Why is this so? Correct knowledge is Bible based—Scriptures learned in their correct context and application.

Colossians 1 has the same message and uses the same language, 9 For this reason also, since the day we heard of it [your love in the Spirit (v8)], we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge [same Greek word] of His will in all spiritual wisdom (note wisdom and understanding are in conjunction with “spiritual”) [wisdom, broad and full of intelligence; used of the knowledge of very diverse matters] and understanding [paraphrased —to set or join together in the mind]10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge [same word] of God…”

The flow is that in order to fully please God we must be spiritually minded in order to put things together in such a way that we will correctly know His will. This process will lead to fully pleasing God and bearing fruit…and increasing in the knowledge of God.

Paul’s heart is again expressed in Colossians 1:28, Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. Note how Paul’s understanding of mature Christianity is based upon teaching about Christ. And not teaching for the sake of teaching and learning alone. No, rather, it is for the sake of have a “precise and correct knowledge” resulting in pleasing God and knowing Christ.